The Hanging Tree
by Elizabeth Blossom
Summary: Helga knew his voice.


Written for **Fanfiction Marathon Competiton/Challenge** and **The Crazy 8s Challenge**. Title taken from the song.

* * *

"Are you coming?" a deep voice said behind her, and Helga jumped when she heard it. She knew that voice and the emotions in it, she knew it better than she knew herself.

She was never quite sure if she could trust herself. But Salazar, Salazar whose voice was always so easy to read, his silver eyes that were always so easy to understand. Godric and Rowena were terrible at reading people, for they never could read Salazar and Salazar was the easiest person in the world to understand.

She turned to look at Salazar, who was leaning against the opening of a door, checking his nails. The sunlight streaming from the open window was bringing out the purples and golds from his dark red hair, which wafted a bit in the breeze. His sharp cheekbones and full lips were a cutting profile, and with his ivory skin and the small smattering of freckles on his cheeks and his narrow, slightly upturned nose, it was so very easy to see how he could turn the head of every woman who passed his way.

He was dressed rather simply for once, in a plain white tunic and black leather breeches and boots. His locket, of course, still hung from his neck.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it.

A smirk turned his lips upward. "To my execution, of course. Or at least, my execution from this wonderful world." A look of disappointment crossed his face, and Helga wanted to hold him until he felt better, though she was sure he never would want her too.

Nor would he ever would.

"Salazar, you built a chamber where to teach students Dark Arts. You enchanted Hogwarts to constantly change so that it might move from place to place. You constantly tell Muggle-born's to leave and try to convince the rest of us to not accept them!"

"You know why I do it," Salazar said coldly.

"You turned out great," she said, trying to effect the same measure of coldness in her voice. She never could quite manage it.

"After I spent years believing I was a freak, a mistake, the spawn of the devil. After my family turned their back on me and made me leave everything behind. After I worked myself to the bone to prove that I could be great. After I gave everything, did everything, _sacrificed_ every part of myself that I could think of to become more than anyone could ever dream! All because of some stupid, drunken fool that couldn't control himself when he saw me make some flowers bloom for my little sister!" Salazar was screaming, tears coming unbidden to his eyes, and Helga was suddenly reminded of where she found the boy, younger than them all. She found him in the shadows of Knockturn Alley, begging and fucking to survive, pride still shining in his eyes.

Pride that everyone wanted to knock out of them.

Godric and Rowena never found out, and they surely always wondered why Salazar looked for students with cunning, ambition, and pride. Helga always knew though. She knew that he was looking for students that would be willing to survive in any way possible.

Survive to destroy.

Helga's family had been magic as long as she could remember. The Gryffindor's, though Godric's mother was a witch born to Muggles, were the same. As was Rowena's mother's side, though her father was a Muggle.

Salazar had to do everything he could to make himself.

Make his name.

Helga walked over to him, and stood on her tip-toe's to kiss him. It was a soft, gentle kiss, and the only kiss that there would be.

It was the best kiss she ever had.

Slowly, she pulled back and her calm green eyes met his shocked silver. "I wish you luck, Salazar. I wish it all for you."

Still staring at her with a somewhat dumbfound expression on his face, Salazar took off his locket and handed it to her.

"My niece, my older brother's daughter, will be starting school this fall. I shall not be here for her. I'm counting on you to be. Give this to her"

"What's her name?" Helga asked.

"Violet," Salazar said. "Violet Evans."

"Evans?" Helga said.

"Yes," Salazar said with a twinkle in his eye. "You don't think all our names could have possibly started with the same letter, don't you? I just did that so I wouldn't be left out."


End file.
